


Downton's Scandal

by Cantatrice18



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Female Friendship, Gen, Intrigue, Pre-Canon, Rumors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-11
Updated: 2013-01-11
Packaged: 2017-11-25 02:56:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/634380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantatrice18/pseuds/Cantatrice18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pre-series: Anna is found in bed with Lady Mary and gossip abounds, leaving Anna in serious danger of losing her place. That is, until the truth comes out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Scandal

The story spread through the house like wildfire, and gossip sprang up in its wake. Lady Grantham, dropping by to tell her daughter something before breakfast, had entered Lady Mary’s bedroom unannounced. She’d expected to see the customary morning routine: the young woman preparing for her day, doing her hair and such. Instead she walked in on a most unusual and startling scene. Lady Mary was still in bed, fast asleep, and who should be entwined in her arms but the housemaid, Anna. The maid wore a nightgown, her hair unbound, her head resting on Lady Mary’s breast. The whole scene was so very strange that Cora stood and stared for several moments in amazement. Then, shutting the door loudly, she cleared her throat. Anna, a much lighter sleeper than her Mistress, was awake in an instant. She quickly realized where she was, and turned white as she saw who was staring at her. She leapt out of the bed and curtsied, standing with her head lowered. “Your Ladyship, I—“

Cora held up a hand. “Don’t speak. Go. I’ll deal with you later.”

Anna nodded and left, making her way as stealthily as she could back to her room, but still catching the notice of several servants. The rumor mill began turning. Reactions were mixed: some refused to believe it at first. Thomas just laughed, making snide comments as to the real reason behind Lady Mary’s reluctance to wed various suitors. “It’s not as though she isn’t being entertained, nights,” he snorted, “Not with Anna to warm up her frigid heart.”

“Thomas, we will have none of that talk here.” Carson had entered the kitchen. “The family’s business is their own, and not to be bandied about like newspaper scandals.”

“But this isn’t all family business, is it?” O’Brian had been lurking in a corner, watching the news spread with a slight smile on her lips. “Not when Anna’s involved. From what I hear, she’s been taking a few…liberties with her position, serving a bit more than is expected. But then, perhaps she’s taken a new position in the house, as yet unnamed.”

There were titters from some of the others who had overheard her remark, but not many. Most of the servants realized the consequences Anna would now have to face, and knew that the night’s events would likely mean a new opening for the position of Housemaid before the week was out. Anna was well liked, and few would be glad to see her go. Among those few was Thomas, who disliked anyone that didn’t share his opinions on the world and the family they all served. “There’s a name for her new position, alright. I can think of several, actually. ‘Tart’, to start with, and perhaps—“

“Thomas!” Mrs. Hughes had overheard, and was glaring daggers at him. “You’ve got no right to speak of any other servant in this house that way. I trust I will not hear any language of that sort from you again.”

“Even if it’s true?” asked Thomas, brows raised impertinently. It was clear he had no intention of backing down. The tension in the room grew until it was abruptly broken by Daisy.

“I don’t understand the fuss. I mean, she shouldn’t have been in her Ladyship’s room, but it’s not like it was a man or anything. Why is everyone so upset?” 

It was clear that Thomas was about to enlighten her, so Mrs. Patmore quickly distracted the girl. “Are you going to get those eggs, or do I have to wait for them to walk from the henhouse and fry themselves?”

Daisy hurried away and the entire room seemed to relax. There were some things the little kitchen maid would never understand. Things were just returning to normal when Anna walked in, dressed in her uniform and looking rather pale.“Mrs. Patmore, is there any bread left over from breakfast?”

The cook hesitated, then nodded stiffly, pointing to the breadbox. “Help yourself to the brownbread in there, it’s from yesterday but it still tastes fresh.”

Anna nodded, retrieving a slice from the box and sitting at the table to eat it. There was an awkward silence as everyone tried not to stare at her. It was Daisy who, returning from the henhouse laden with a basket of eggs, broke the silence first. “What were you doing up in her Ladyship’s room last night?”

Anna stiffened and glanced around at the many curious pairs of eyes now fixed upon her. Her face reddened. “That’s my business and hers, not anyone else’s.”

She stood abruptly, all interest in the bread forgotten, and made as though to leave. Thomas could not resist one parting shot. “I suppose you think you’re better than us, now that you’re Lady Mary’s favorite new toy. No accounting for her taste, of course, but then I suppose you’ll just consider it a bonus. Going to start sleeping upstairs like a Duchess, are you?”

Anna froze, fists clenched. “I’m not—“, she began, “She isn’t—it’s not…” but her voice trailed off and she looked away. The servant’s exchanged glances, some worried, others gleeful. Even those who liked Anna had to admit that the gossip about her and the Heiress of Downton was salacious. Anna turned and walked quickly towards the stairs, but stopped abruptly as she came face to face with Lady Grantham. Her Ladyship had an air of determination that silenced everyone downstairs, even as they hurried to rise from their seats. “Carson,” she called out, and the butler was immediately at her side. Turning, she spotted Mrs. Hughes and nodded to her. “You as well, Mrs. Hughes. I suppose I might use your sitting room?”

“Use my office, Milady,” said Carson stiffly. He was never comfortable when members of the Family ventured downstairs. 

Lady Grantham nodded and walked towards the office, gesturing for the others to follow. Anna remained frozen in place until Mrs. Hughes took her arm. “Come along, Anna, don’t dawdle. Her Ladyship isn’t here to talk to me or Carson.”

Anna winced, then nodded and obeyed. As they left the dining hall she could feel the gaze of every servant boring into her, wondering whether the next time they saw her she might not be wearing civilian clothes and holding a packed case with all her worldly possessions. They could not know that, at that very moment, Anna was wondering the exact same thing.


	2. The Truth

The door shut firmly behind them as they arranged themselves in Carson’s small office. Anna attempted to give Her Ladyship a wide berth, but was hampered by Carson and Mrs. Hughes on either side. The office was not built to accommodate four people, and as such they were closer together than they might have been otherwise. Cora made the situation slightly easier by crossing to the other side of the desk and sitting in Carson’s chair. Carson and Mrs. Hughes shifted aside, leaving Anna alone before the desk. Caught in the piercing stare of her Mistress, Anna found herself unable to look up from the floor. There was silence in the room. Finally, the Duchess began. 

“Why, Anna?” Her voice was clipped, each word filled with tension. “I cannot extract a single truthful word from my daughter that could explain your presence in her—" the Duchess winced, "…in her room, this morning. Yet the way you presented yourself, the way it looked…tell me, Anna. Tell me the truth, and I shall perhaps find it in me to forgive your poor judgment.”

Anna could not speak. She felt the weight of Carson’s and Mrs. Hughes’ gazes add to her discomfort. She could find no excuse, no reason that would satisfy them. Her Ladyship tapped her fingernails on the desk impatiently. “I’m waiting, Anna. This isn’t a joke, and you cannot be coy about what happened. Who knows – perhaps my daughter was at fault as much as you. But I cannot know if you do not tell me.”

Still Anna could not speak. She stood, frozen in place, awaiting the harsh judgment that she knew would fall upon her. Her crimes were now twofold: She had been found barely clothed in her Mistress’ arms, and she had refused a direct order to disclose the reason why. If ever she had retained any hope of keeping her position, it was brutally crushed as the Duchess stood once more. Looking down her nose at the petite maid, she gestured to Carson and he came to stand by her. “Carson, you are to give Anna two weeks wages as severance. I will not give her a reference, but it is entirely up to you whether you choose to do so. The same goes for you, Mrs. Hughes,” she said, glancing away from Anna for a moment to include the housekeeper. “I trust you know her work better than I, during the day at least.”

Anna was trying to hide her trembling when a knock at the door interrupted the proceedings. Carson opened it to reveal Lady Mary, looking pallid but still as imperious as ever. She entered and came to stand beside Anna, her gaze meeting that of her mother. The Duchess looked warily at her eldest daughter. “Well, Mary? Is there something you wish to add before Anna leaves to go pack her things?”

Mary glared. “Mother, you cannot dismiss Anna. She did nothing wrong, only what I told her to do.”

There was silence once more. The Duchess’ eyes were wide with shock. “What you told her? You mean you—you and she were—you wanted her in bed with you? You ordered her to be there?” Mary nodded and the Duchess’ voice rose to a squeak. “How could you, Mary? And with a servant, of all things, and with your father and I sending you to London each season to find a good match, with Patrick so interested and—“

“It isn’t like that,” Mary interrupted, “not at all. I am not conducting some sort of clandestine affair with a servant, and certainly not Anna. I fully intend to marry Patrick or whatever duke or earl you find who will take me. Last night wasn’t—it didn’t…” 

She glanced at Anna and the words trailed off. Anna was looking at her so hopefully, almost desperately, that it made her forget entirely about the rest of her story. It was only the sound of Carson clearing his throat that brought her attention back to her mother. “Yes, well, as I was saying, last night was an accident.”

Mrs. Hughes made a small noise of doubt, shaking her head ever so slightly at the two young women. Mary paid her no heed. “It was a dream that started it – a nightmare unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Flashes of light, smoke, screams of the dead and dying and above all, the bodies. Thousands of them, piled atop one another: men, women, children. People from the village, friends from London, all jumbled together amid strangers. All dead. I awoke screaming and before I knew it I had left my room, running as though to escape a pursuing demon. I didn’t pay any attention to where I was, I didn’t even have a candle, and so I found myself eventually at the foot of the servant’s stairs. I saw the flicker of light and I followed it, so desperate to find another human soul that I did not even mind my own disheveled state of dress. The candle belonged to Anna, who had stayed awake to read. When she saw me standing in her doorway she immediately came to me and helped me back to my room. We stayed awake and talked for a long time, and I had her read aloud to me to calm me. Though I saw how late it was getting I could not stand to extinguish the lights once more and face the darkness, the death. Eventually I became sane enough to see how she shivered in the cold. She wore only her nightdress, while I was safe and warm beneath the sheets and blankets. I told her to join me, to warm herself in compensation for what I’d put her through. She fell asleep, as did I, and we did not awaken until morning, when you found us.”

Cora looked shocked, Carson appalled. Only Mrs. Hughes seemed relatively calm. “But Lady Mary, you could have simply sent her back to her room.”

Mary shook her head sharply. “I couldn’t. I didn’t dare face the dreams again, the darkness, not without her. Not without another person there to keep me safe.”

The Duchess seemed at a loss for words. “But—you can’t have really—you didn’t really act so selfishly as to keep a maid up the whole night reading to you, surely.”

Mary looked away. “I did just that. I forced her to stay awake when she faced a full day of work ahead, to freeze all night because I had been childish enough to become frightened by a dream. And she did as I asked without complaint.” Her eyes met Anna’s and Mary smiled. “She stayed, and we slept. But that was all we did.” Mary turned back to the others, frowning. “I will not have people saying anything vulgar or coarse about last night, or about Anna. She was not at fault.”

Lady Cora sighed. “But Mary, why did you not just say so in the first place, when I asked you? And Anna, why didn’t you speak up? If this was really all Mary’s idea you could have said so.”

Anna looked between the Duchess and Mary, seemingly lost for words, and Mary stepped in once more. “I told her not to. I thought that in the morning she would be able to sneak back to her quarters and no one would have to know how foolish I’d been.” For the first time, a shadow passed over her face, and she looked worried. “You aren’t going to dismiss Anna, are you? Not now, after what I’ve said.”

Cora smiled, shaking her head. “Oh Mary, you do like to make things difficult. Of course I won’t dismiss Anna. I think her dedication to you is quite admirable, and though it made life harder for me, her loyalty to the promise she made you shows wonderful character.” Cora’s smile became more tender as she walked around the desk to place her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “It isn’t wrong to be afraid, my dear. It’s one of the things that make us human. It’s how we deal with the fear that makes a difference. Next time, perhaps think things through a bit more before you act.” 

The Duchess straightened and addressed the room once more. “As for Anna, I think she deserves a bit of real rest. Can you spare her, Mrs. Hughes?”

The Housekeeper nodded. “I most certainly can. She’s no use to me half-dead from exhaustion. She can rest until supper.”

Anna nodded and curtsied, sensing a dismissal in Mrs. Hughes’ voice, but before she could turn to go the Duchess began to speak again. “I cannot help noticing, Mary, that you are in need of someone to help you prepare in the mornings, and again before supper. Now that you are of marriageable age these things are all the more important. Of course, it is too early for you to have a Lady’s Maid all to yourself, but if Anna was to help you and the other girls every day then you’d get used to having someone and be better prepared for finding an appropriate Lady’s Maid in the future. What do you think Carson?”

The Butler nodded gravely. “It is a good idea, Milady. Now that Lady Mary is of age, presentation and propriety are more important than ever.”

The Duchess turned to Mrs. Hughes next. “What do you say, Mrs. Hughes? Could Anna take on the task?”

Mrs. Hughes nodded briskly. “I have no doubt of it. She’s an excellent worker, and I’d have been right sad to have lost her.”

The Duchess smiled as she turned finally to face Anna. “What do you think, Anna? Can I burden you with the task of humoring not one, but three of my daughters? I’ll make it up in your wages so that it will be worth your while.”

Anna nodded, eyes bright with joy and relief. “I would be honored to serve the young ladies to the best of my ability.”

Cora straightened, looking around at them all with an almost smug expression on her face. “Well then, that’s settled. The mystery is solved and all parties come away unscathed. Let us say no more of it, but continue as we were. Mrs. Hughes, I trust you to adjust Anna’s duties as you see fit, and Carson, raise her pay to that of, say, Head Housemaid. In fact, why not just call her that: she’s too young for a Lady’s Maid just yet, but she’ll learn.” 

With that Cora swept out of the room, leaving the others all behind.


	3. Epilogue

The news of Anna’s promotion came as a shock to the rest of the staff. Thomas, for one, was absolutely irate. “How can they think of letting her stay, after she’d been caught in bed with one of the daughters?”

“I told you,” said Daisy smugly, “They were just sleeping after all. There’s nothing wrong about sleeping.”

“For you there is!” bellowed Mrs. Patmore. “Get yourself over to this stove and stir like your life depends upon it – because it does, you little idiot! 

As Daisy rushed to obey Thomas exchanged looks with O’Brian. The Lady’s Maid had not been pleased to hear that a housemaid had joined her ranks, even nominally. “She’ll be out within the month, never you fear. Without the proper training she’ll be sure to mess something up – ruin one of the girls’ dresses or lose some of their jewelry.”

“And if she doesn’t?” Thomas asked quietly.

O’Brian’s smile was like a razor, her eyes glinting with hidden malice. “Well, we’ll just have to help her then, won’t we?”

Upstairs in her room, Anna heard none of the gossip that still occupied the servants downstairs. She was asleep, curled up in her blankets, a tiny smile on her lips. 

Late that morning, as the other servants were beginning their preparations for lunch, Anna awoke and heard a light rap on her bedroom door. She looked up, startled, and called “Come in.” To her shock it was Lady Mary who entered, a finger held to her lips. She crossed silently to sit at Anna’s bedside and smiled somewhat nervously. “How are you?”

Anna shrugged. “I’m no worse for wear, Milady. In truth, I slept well enough last night after…” she trailed off, unsure of how best to complete the thought. The silence became uncomfortable until finally Mary shifted in her chair, staring down at the floor and fiddling with a bracelet. “Anna, I…I wanted to thank you. For keeping quiet, I mean. You nearly lost your place over what I did last night.”

“What we did,” Anna corrected her, voice gentle but firm. “I chose to stay with you, to take you back to your room myself and to read to you. And as for thanks, I need none. You have repaid me by confessing everything, even the things I know you wished to hide, to your mother and to head servants. You did that to save me, to help me keep my place here, and in your honesty you managed to even get me promoted.” 

She giggled and Mary half smiled, shaking her head. “I don’t feel like it’s nearly enough. So I thought, to make us even, I might…” she hesitated, then placed a small rectangular object on the bed. Anna leaned forward to examine it, then smiled and relaxed back onto her pillow. “I would be honored, Milady.”

Mary breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the book once more. Settling back in the chair, she began to read aloud. 

“Chapter one…”


End file.
